MTA#1 – Expert Shares Some HR Basics
(Crystal A. Proxmire, April 14, 2025)
Grand Rapids, MI – Human Resources practices are not just about dealing with challenging employees, but about supporting good ones too.
Heidi Hudson, an attorney with Hartleb Agency in Farmington Hills and Grand Rapids, has seen many types of employee conflicts and claims arise in her career, and on April 1 she was kind enough to share some of her experiences with local officials and administrators from access across the state at the Michigan Townships Association annual conference in Grand Rapids.
There are many businesses and municipalities that are not large enough to have trained HR professionals on staff, but it’s important for employers to think about human resources, ideally before problems arise. And even if there are challenges with people on staff, it may be worth taking the time to communicate and encourage resolutions rather than risk lawsuits or take on the cost of searching for new employees and training them.
In spite of some stressful situations, Hudson said that “Most people want to work and do the best they can.”
Though of course there can be problem employees – such as those who are lazy or who are busy bodies, or those that don’t keep to a schedule.
Hudson stressed the importance of dealing with problems early on and treating all employees fairly. “It might be easier to just ignore problems, or make exceptions,” she said. But ultimately “When you start to tolerate bad behavior in the workplace it just grows, and you’ll loose good employees. Bad employees will run the good employees off.”
A basic starting point is to “be fair, be consistent, and give due process,” she said.
Second is having procedures and a handbook that outlines expectations for everyone in the workplace.
Having a job description for each position has many benefits. It sets the expectations for the employee, though it should also include “other duties as assigned” to help cover any unexpected tasks that may arise.
A job description also means that should an employer need to let an employee go, they could eliminate their position rather than firing them.
Michigan is an at-will state, meaning that employees can be terminated for no reason. However, there are also civil rights laws that prevent discrimination and if an employee is not fired for a clear reason they could come back and claim discrimination.
That’s why Hudson recommends that if an employee is doing something wrong or falling short of expectations, that those instances be discussed with the employee, and documented in their file. A Performance Improvement Plan is like a final warning for employees that tells them what is expected of them moving forward. It should be discussed with the employee and a witness, and the employee should sign that they received it.
But reviews are not just for underachievers. Part of Human Resources is also letting employees know when they are appreciated. “Tell people when they’re doing a good job. Be supportive,” Hudson said. This goes for the best of employees, as well as employees who are showing efforts and improvements. “If all I’ve heard is I’m a lump head and I’m not doing a good job, I may not have high expectations,” she said.
The written policy should also include information about earned sick time. In Michigan earned sick time laws were recently updated and both employers and employees should be aware of the provisions, as well as how the employer tracks hours earned.
Navigating things like sick time and the family medical leave can be the source of disagreements. Time off should be documented to avoid disputes down the road.
Hudson also made the point that “Having procedures in place doesn’t guarantee a perfect workplace,” and in many cases employers have made the effort to create written policies, but they don’t think to use them until it is too late.
This story is part of a series of stories from the Michigan Townships Association Annual Conference which took place in Grand Rapids April 1-3. Learn more about MTA at https://michigantownships.org. Read more Oakland County Times stories about local governance here.
